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  • Airmen guard camp, detainees in Iraq

    Airmen here are performing jobs normally reserved for deployed Soldiers. They are escorting patrols and convoys, helping provide force protection for an Army camp and guarding detainees. More than 6,000 detainees are housed in the temporary internment facility here while awaiting legal proceedings

  • Robots, Airmen defuse unexploded ordnance

    With the help of new, faster and more agile robots, explosive ordnance disposal Airmen here have an opportunity to keep their distance from bombs set to harm servicemembers off the base.Teaming man and machine is giving Airmen of the EOD unit an upper hand in the seemingly never-ending battle

  • World War II women warriors pass on history, heritage

    After pooling her quarters with her cousin to pay the whopping, 1920s fee of $1.50, Caro Bayley climbed into a Tri-motor Ford airplane at Springfield Airfield, Ohio. She was about to make a historic flight -- the first in her life.Soaring over the clouds, the young girl looked down at the ground.

  • PACAF officials establish warfighting headquarters

    Pacific Air Forces headquarters officials established the George C. Kenney Headquarters (Provisional) here June 1. The newly formed warfighting headquarters will focus exclusively on planning and executing military operations throughout the Pacific theater, excluding the Korean Peninsula. It is

  • Officials announce Flemming award winners

    Four Airmen were selected for the 56th Annual Arthur S. Flemming Award.George Washington University officials present the awards to honor outstanding people in federal government each year who have performed outstanding and meritorious work to encourage high standards of performance; enhance

  • Sons of Iraq represent future, freedom

    Iraq just moved closer toward freedom and independence -- 54 steps closer to be exact.Each step is represented by one of 54 elite Iraqi soldiers who have begun explosives ordnance disposal school, the first group to enter the school since the free elections in January. The soldiers will learn how to

  • Airman magazine changes to quarterly publication

    Beginning in July, Airman magazine will be distributed on a quarterly basis versus monthly, to include the January almanac edition.Readers can expect to see enhanced photography and changes in content, layout and design. Because of the transition, the June issue will not be published, but excerpts

  • Officials announce manpower, organization winners

    Air Force officials have announced the winners of the 2004 Air Force Manpower and Organization awards.The annual awards recognize the top manpower and organization professionals in each category.The 2004 winners are:-- Headquarters-Level Field Grade Officer of the Year: Lt. Col. Gregory Parsons

  • Guardsmen tackle challenges of keeping their cool

    People wanting to find out just how hot it can get inside their tent only need mess with the environmental control unit, and they will find out soon enough.Instead, it is probably advisable just to take Master Sgt. Alex Gonzalez’s word for it, and leave the things alone.“It can easily get to 120

  • Air Force officials announce civilian-of-year winners

    Air Force officials recently announced the winners of the 2005 Air Force Association Outstanding Air Force Civilian of the Year Awards.The awards recognized the following Air Force civilian employees in their respective category:-- Civilian Wage Employee: Timothy Sparks from Elmendorf Air Force

  • Airmen work with Soldiers to help Iraqi communities

    The public works directorate here, comprising Air Force and Army civil engineers, work on everything from constructing new facilities to designing waste-water treatment facilities to installing electric power nodes. “In short, if you need a construction project done, we do it all,” said Maj. Thomas

  • Honoring fallen heroes full-time job

    Click, click, click. People can hear the crisp, unmistakable sound of heels tapping together simultaneously.With precision movements, Homestead Air Reserve Base Honor Guard Airmen march in unison to take their spot in the funeral procession. They are dressed in pristine Air Force dress uniforms

  • Airmen provide support during Operation Alaskan Road

    A group of Airmen at Camp Wy-Wuh, Alaska, is supporting the troops of Joint Task Force Alaskan Road by making sure their camp has at least some of the comforts of home. Operation Alaskan Road entails the construction of a 14.5-mile road on an island that is Alaska’s only federally recognized Indian

  • Airmen provide close-air support for patrol in Afghanistan

    Air Force air and ground combat support elements accompanied infantrymen from the 508th Infantry Regiment during a presence patrol in the mountainous region here recently.Air Force joint terminal attack controllers, who are attached to an Army unit to coordinate close-air support for ground

  • Air Force officials announce AT award winners

    Air Force officials recently announced the 2005 Air Force Anti-terrorism award winners.The awards program recognizes anti-terrorism accomplishments and provides public recognition and praise for those who work behind the scenes to combat terrorism on behalf of Department of Defense servicemembers,

  • Taking second step: BRAC commissioner visits Pope AFB

    A Base Realignment and Closure commissioner met with base leaders here May 24 to discuss the base’s inclusion on the 2005 BRAC list, the units that could potentially be affected and the land that comprises the base.“My visit is not to announce Pope will be closed. Rather I am here to get a personal

  • Convoy Airmen protect supply lines

    He wipes the sweat from his palms, getting a better grasp on the warm steel handles of the .50-caliber gun. Darkness stretches around him for miles, with the exception of the headlights from his convoy illuminating the road ahead. The Airman remains vigilant as he keeps a watchful eye. At this

  • Volunteers give to community at Marian House

    Downtown Colorado Springs was quiet on a recent morning. Traffic, normally a dull roar during the week, was a whisper as cars zipped along a nearly empty Interstate 25 and local roads. A dozen cars sat parked behind a yellow house on a road about a quarter of a mile from the highway.As other

  • Civil support teams provide WMD expertise to communities

    Guardsmen with the 61st Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team here like to think of themselves as firefighters."We're ready to go, but we don't go until the bell goes off," said Lt. Col. Keith Bauder, commander of the unit since it activated five years ago.The "bell" sounds in the event of

  • 100-percent accountability paramount in deployed operations

    Imagine showing up to work one day only to discover everyone is new. Well, that has been the case at this and many other forward-deployed locations worldwide. Most of the Airmen in the air and space expeditionary force’s current rotation arrived within the past month, and that means Airmen at the

  • Deploying does not mean classroom is closed

    Wearing desert battle dress uniforms and living in a tent city do not necessarily mean people need to put their educational goals on hold, said the chief of the learning resource center at a forward-deployed location.Tech. Sgt. James Norton Jr. recently arrived from the 480th Intelligence Wing at

  • Academy sports recap: Falcons name new basketball head coach

    Former Denver Nuggets coach Jeff Bzdelik has been named the new head coach for the Falcon men's basketball team. He replaces Chris Mooney, who left the academy May 5 to accept the head coaching job at the University of Richmond.“We’re very excited about having Jeff lead the men’s basketball team

  • Air National Guard leaders focus on BRAC

    Air National Guard leaders are urging citizen Airmen nationwide to remain focused on their missions while they and others consider the organization's future during this year's Base Realignment and Closure process. Lt. Gen. Daniel James III, ANG director, and Chief Master Sgt. Richard Smith, ANG

  • Officials unveil new generation command and control system

    A new generation command and control system was unveiled recently when Air Mobility Command officials began fielding a new system that provides unit-level and force-level mission planning, scheduling and tracking of all mobility airlift and air refueling missions.The global decision support system

  • Lajes sergeant 100-percent fit to fight

    People may spend hours studying to get a 100 percent on a test, but a sergeant here spent hours in the gym and at fitness sessions to achieve a perfect score on the Air Force fitness test -- twice.Senior Master Sgt. Robin McMullen, chief controller of the 65th Operations Support Squadron’s air

  • Pilots give new C-130J aircraft rave reviews

    Here at the "Home of the Herk" -- the affectionate nickname for the C-130 Hercules aircraft -- there is no ambivalence about the new "J" model.The C-130J is the latest addition to the C-130 fleet, bringing state-of-the-art technology to the tactical cargo- and troop-transport aircraft that has been

  • Hurricane Hunters fly first operation WC-130J mission

    The first storm of the 2005 hurricane season came a little early this year appearing in the Pacific off the coast of Central America. Hurricane Adrian also marked the beginning of a new era in weather reconnaissance for the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron’s “Hurricane Hunters” here.When

  • Pallet pursuit nets plentiful return

    It is “mission accomplished” for the Airmen of the 455th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron’s pallet and net team. They have returned more than $3.7 million in pallets, nets and other airlift assets to the transportation system in three months.While these assets are supposed to be returned

  • Vietnam War missing in action Airman identified

    The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced May 20 that the remains of a U.S. Airman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and returned to his family for burial with full military honors.On Oct. 15, 1965, Maj. Robert Harry Schuler Jr., of Wellsburg, N.Y.,

  • Individual Ready Reserve 'key component' of total military

    The Individual Ready Reserve is "a key component" of America's total military force, a senior Defense Department official said May 17 at the 2005 Reserve Personnel Center Commanders'/IRR Conference in Denver.Consisting of about 300,000 people, the IRR "presents a valuable pool" of trained military

  • DOD examines high operational tempo's effect on equipment

    Equipment that servicemembers are using in Iraq and Afghanistan is getting years worth of use in just one year on the ground, and the Defense Department is taking steps to ensure the tanks, Bradleys, Strykers, Humvees, helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles stay in a high state of readiness.No

  • BRAC recommendations present beneficial results

    Air Force Base Realignment and Closure recommendations provide an opportunity for the Air Force to effectively organize its total force into a more capable and efficient warfighting organization, transforming the Air Force to better meet future threats.The co-chairman of the Air Force's Base Closure

  • Civil engineers train for chemical attacks

    Civil engineers here replaced their shovels, hammers and power tools with gas masks, gloves and chemical warfare ensemble gear during ability to survive and operate training here May 18.“This training is very important,” said Capt. Jeremy Milliman, 374th Civil Engineer Squadron’s readiness flight

  • ESC team receives value engineering award

    An Electronic Systems Center office received the Department of Defense's Value Engineering Achievement Award for 2004.The battle management command, control and communications hardware procurement team was is responsible for the acquisition of hardware for air operations centers and mission

  • Mobile dental bus helps drive away plaque

    Being assigned to a geographically separated unit can sometimes create difficulties and lost man-hours when it comes to annual appointments like dental checkups. That is not the case for GSUs aligned with Spangdahlem.The 52nd Dental Squadron’s dental bus is a 40-foot long, fully functioning dental

  • Officials announce 2004 security forces awards

    Air Force officials recently announced the 2004 Air Force Outstanding Security Forces Individual Award winners.These annual awards recognize the top security forces Airmen in each category.The career field-wide award winner is:Colonel Billy Jack Carter Award: Senior Master Sgt. Richard Graves from

  • Air Force officials send Armed Forces Day message

    The following is an Armed Forces Day message from Michael L. Dominguez, acting secretary of the Air Force, and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper:In the first presidential proclamation for Armed Forces Day in 1950, President Truman said the day ‘marks the first combined demonstration by

  • New law to affect SGLI payments, premiums

    Defense Department and Veterans Affairs officials are ironing out details of programs that will expand benefits provided through Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance.The $82 billion supplemental legislation signed into law by President Bush on May 11 increases maximum SGLI coverage to $400,000 and

  • IRS, DOD officials encourage improved tax compliance

    Internal Revenue Service officials have asked the Defense Department to help ensure that DOD federal civilians receiving pay or retirement checks from Uncle Sam also pay him his due in federal income taxes.A great percentage of federal employees and retirees pay their federal taxes than the general

  • Officials announce aircrew life support award winners

    Air Force officials recently announced the 2004 Outstanding Air Force Aircrew Life Support of the Year award winners.These awards recognize the accomplishments of aircrew life support people and programs.The 2004 winners are:-- Outstanding Aircrew Life Support Headquarters Staff Member of the Year:

  • Officials announce Air Force communications, information awards

    The following people, teams and units are winners of the 2004 Air Force Communications and Information awards.Air Force communications and information individual award winners are:-- Outstanding Field Grade Officer: Maj. Kevin Payne from Ramstein Air Base, Germany.-- Outstanding Company Grade

  • Recommendations 'will reshape Air Force'

    Air Force recommendations provided to the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission will reorganize that service, making it more capable to address threats to national security, the Air Force's top civilian told commissioners here May 17."We have presented to you a bold program that will reshape

  • Desert lifestyle results in big weight loss

    Most of the people assigned at this forward-deployed location as part of Air and Space Expeditionary Force 3/4 have rotated home, but they left behind a lot of excess baggage – unwanted pounds.Airmen hit the gym in heavy numbers, sometimes filling the two facilities here, and many left in much

  • Pilot involved in D.C. intercept confident in security network

    One of the F-16 Fighting Falcon pilots who intercepted a private plane that strayed into restricted airspace here May 11 said he was prepared to use force if necessary to prevent a potential attack, and expressed confidence in the security system protecting the nation's capital.Lt. Col. Tim Lehman,

  • Donation provides mobility, honors Jumper

    In honor of Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. John P. Jumper and his wife, Ellen, the Ford Motor company donated two wheelchair accessible vans to Walter Reed Army Medical Center during a ceremony May 12 at the Pentagon.Edsel B. Ford II, of the company’s board of directors, said they donated the

  • Airmen prepare Romanian base for exercise

    It is springtime in Romania where dishes and antennae are sprouting up at an airfield here that is developing into a multinational web of communication in preparation for exercise Combined Endeavor 2005.Activity at the airfield, which is the forward-deployed location for the exercise, is gaining

  • USAFE activates new wing at Mildenhall

    U.S. Air Forces in Europe activated a new wing here May 12 enhancing the command’s ability to provide support to its geographically separated units in the United Kingdom.The Airmen of the 501st Combat Support Wing will focus on units that, by their nature, are separated from main operating bases of

  • Air National Guard fighter jets respond quickly to stray aircraft

    The military's actions when a small private plane strayed into the no-fly zone over the nation’s capital area May 11 were "just a normal response" that demonstrates the Air National Guard continues to be "ready to respond at a moment's notice," a member of the unit involved said.Airmen from the

  • Airmen travel to Guatemala to train, treat patients

    Outside a primitive five-room elementary school, hundreds of villagers lined up to receive medical, dental and optometry care.Airmen from Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., provided the care. The 33-person team had recently arrived to provide medical care for 10 days at three schools in villages in the

  • Air Force aviator strengthens U.S.-Japan friendship, ties

    An Air Force exchange pilot is strengthening bilateral ties and friendship between U.S. and Japanese military forces here. Capt. Justin Fletcher, an F-15 Eagle pilot, said that being assigned at the picturesque Japanese base located south of Tokyo is one of the most interesting and challenging jobs

  • Mobility bag test case begins

    Airmen will be returning from their deployment a little lighter because of a test to pre-position mobility bags in theater, potentially saving millions of dollars. The test began May 9.To make the deployable Air Force more agile and address concerns of people hand-carrying too many bags into the

  • Pilot awarded Kolligian Trophy for combat mission

    Despite wounds and a helicopter crippled by enemy fire, an Air Force pilot safely flew his aircraft and crew home from Iraq.For his efforts, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper presented the Kolligian Trophy to Capt. Steven Edwards during a May 6 ceremony at the Pentagon. Captain Edwards,

  • Services director inducted into Boys, Girls Clubs Hall of Fame

    The director of Air Force Services was recently inducted into the Boys and Girls Clubs of America Hall of Fame.Arthur J. Myers, a Boys Club member in his native state of New Jersey, was nominated and selected for his public service and excellence in Air Force Services. The hall of fame induction

  • Joint search and rescue center coordinates search efforts

    The sole purpose of 28 people in the joint search and rescue center at the Combined Air Operations Center is to step in when operations go awry and people in U.S. Central Command area of responsibility need help.Besides coordinating the efforts of seven main rescue coordination centers, the joint

  • Logistics Airman excels in passenger travel

    While most of her co-workers are helping servicemembers deployed here return home, one traffic management specialist is moving in another direction.With the deployment rotation in full swing, Senior Airman Latasha Ireland, with the 379th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron, has work to do.

  • Incirlik employee nominated for public service award

    An employee from Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, is the Air Force nominee for the 56th annual William A. Jump Memorial Foundation Award, Air Force Personnel Center officials here announced May 6.He is Jude Sorg.The award is presented to a civilian career employee of the federal government, who is 37

  • Eye in the sky protects ground forces

    Soaring through the air looking for prey, the MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle is an aircraft ground forces do not want to be without. With its large infrared eye, it surveys the land and relays intelligence to servicemembers in the field.“The Predator is the greatest reconnaissance tool the

  • Deployed security forces take on military police mission

    Because of a shortage of Air Force security forces in recent years, the Army has helped out by providing Soldiers at bases worldwide. The 732nd Expeditionary Mission Support Group’s Detachment 1, an Air Force detachment from Balad Air Base, Iraq, is repaying the security debt by filling the role of

  • Army hands over Strykers to Air Force

    With a handshake and the roar of a jet engine at Fort Polk, La., an Eielson unit became the first in the Air Force to own the latest addition to the service’s inventory – the Stryker armored vehicle.In a May 5 ceremony at Fort Polk, 3rd Air Support Operations Squadron officials obtained five of the

  • Cope Thunder wraps in Alaska

    Cope Thunder participants used Eielson’s 62,000 square miles of training airspace and met their objective: to fly, fight and win during Pacific Air Force’s premier combat airpower exercise that ends May 6.The two-week exercise took place here and Elmendorf AFB, Alaska.“All Cope Thunder units had one

  • Munitions tracking going wireless

    Officials at the Operations and Sustainment Systems Group headquarters here said they soon will release a software update that will take the guesswork out of ordering munitions online. They also are testing technology that will keep tabs on Air Force munitions.The revised Combat Ammunitions System

  • AEF Airmen ensure mission continues at Soto Cano

    For more than 20 years, Airmen have been rotating in and out of this Central American base filling short-tour requirements. Now, Airmen can deploy here.“Soto Cano is one of our permanent party bases in which Airmen are also going to fill (Air and Space Expeditionary) requirements,” said Brig. Gen.

  • May issue of Airman available

    Read about how the Air Force Personnel Center supports Airmen, see how some single sergeants balance kids and work, and learn about a Hungarian-born pilot whose dreams of flying for the Air Force are coming true. These features and more highlight the May issue of Airman magazine, now available in

  • Air Force continues search for Junior ROTC instructors

    Officials continue to search for qualified instructors to serve in rapidly expanding Air Force Junior ROTC programs, said Jo Alice Talley, chief of instructor management for Air Force Junior ROTC here.The Air Force is opening 48 new Junior ROTC units in high schools in 21 states, with more to

  • Air Force announces aviation resource management awards

    Air Force officials recently announced the winners of the 2004 Outstanding Air Force Aviation Resource Management of the Year Awards.The 2004 winners are:-- Airman of the Year: Airman 1st Class Dusty S. Stofan, 17th Special Operations Squadron, Kadena Air Base, Japan.-- Noncommissioned Officer of

  • Defense Department to resume anthrax vaccinations

    The Department of Defense will resume its Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program, officials said May 3.A memorandum signed April 29 allows military commanders to resume the vaccination program using the emergency use authorization conditions issued by the Food and Drug Administration on Jan. 27,

  • Officials announce 2004 mission support awards

    Officials recently announced the winners of the 2004 Air Force Mission Support Awards. The awards recognize Airmen and their units for outstanding performance in the areas of personnel, military equal opportunity, professional military education and training. Winners for 2004 are: -- General

  • Academy sports recap: Falcons snap 47-game losing streak

    Karl Bolt's 11th inning walk-off home run snapped the Air Force Academy's 47-game Mountain West Conference losing streak April 30 at home.The Falcons defeated Brigham Young University 8-7 in a game called by umpires April 29 because of darkness. The game was tied 7-7 after nine innings.Bolt, who was

  • JSTARS reaches 10,000 combat hours in Southwest Asia

    The E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System reached 10,000 combat hours in Southwest Asia.The aircraft and its operators, maintainers and support people have had a continuous presence in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility since July 2003 as part of the 379th Air Expeditionary

  • Two Airmen among recipients of military service award

    Two Airmen were among the six recipients of the annual Government Employees Insurance Company Military Service Awards. For 17 years, GEICO has recognized servicemembers from all branches of the service -- including the Guard and Reserve -- for work in drug and alcohol abuse prevention, fire and

  • Air Force journalists win DOD awards

    Air Force print and broadcast journalists won 10 categories in the 2004 Thomas Jefferson Awards for excellence in military media.The awards recognize military and civilian employee print and broadcast journalists for outstanding achievements in furthering the Department of Defense internal

  • Promotion study guides hit streets in May

    The latest edition of enlisted promotion study guides will hit the streets by the end of May, Air Education and Training Command officials here said.Both the Promotion Fitness Examination and the U.S. Air Force Supervisory Examination, officially known as Volumes 1 and 2 of Air Force Pamphlet

  • Training ensures reservists ready to go

    Air Force Space Command reservists tested a common training assembly concept here April 22 and 23 to ensure nearly 350 individual mobilization augmentees were trained and ready for mobilization.Reservists need to be trained at the same level as their active-duty counterparts. While active-duty

  • Wilford Hall team flies to Alaska to evacuate infant

    A 10-month-old girl battling a severe case of pneumonia was flown 4,000 miles by Airmen from Wilford Hall Medical Center here April 28.Carle David was hospitalized in Anchorage when officials requested help. The neonatal critical-care air transport medical team, which stays prepared to launch on

  • Airmen strut their stuff for civilian leaders

    As part of the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference, a weeklong tour of military installations for top civic and community leaders nationwide, the 347th Rescue Wing pulled out all stops April 26 for the visiting group of civic leaders.The tour highlights the latest U.S. military equipment and

  • Expeditionary supply technicians order up success

    Ensuring continuous supplies are available to support military operations here falls in part to a group of six Airmen from the 416th Expeditionary Mission Support Squadron’s supply section.If vital aircraft spare parts for the C-130 Hercules are needed, it is their responsibility to order and

  • Technology unites Airmen in matrimony

    Nearly 7,000 miles of desert and ocean could not keep two Airmen from tying the knot. Maj. Heather Villasenor, who is at a forward-deployed location in Southwest Asia, married Lt. Col. Michael Bryant on April 26. The wedding was held in Southwest Asia -- and Virginia. Colonel Bryant, the Joint

  • Space, air warfare centers integrate capabilities

    The Air Force is integrating some forces to better manage air, space and information operations combat capabilities to support missions worldwide, Air Force officials announced April 26. Elements of Air Force Space Command’s Space Warfare Center at Schriever Air Force Base, Colo., will integrate

  • Academy sports recap: Cadet wins powerlifting collegiate nationals

    Michael Tuchscherer bench pressed more than twice his body weight during the USA Powerlifting Collegiate Nationals this month, earning him first place.He is the first cadet to earn this honor in 17 years.Tuchscherer, from Corydon, Ind., made a national record with a 551-pound bench press. The

  • Airman’s actions save neighbor’s home

    An Airman here recently extinguished a house fire that threatened to destroy a nearby Panama City home.Master Sgt. Dave Delmar, 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron’s noncommissioned officer in charge of plans and programs, used garden hoses to extinguish the fire, saving his neighbors’ home and most of

  • Airmen receive panoramic night-vision goggles

    Nighttime missions are about to get a whole lot clearer, and that is only the beginning of a much-anticipated acquisition program here.Air Force special operations aircrews received their first shipment of 20 panoramic night-vision goggles April 25.The current contract calls for 400 goggles, and

  • Spangdahlem Airmen train with new high-tech weapon

    The sound of gunfire ricocheting off concrete walls is an everyday occurrence for Airmen at the combat arms training and maintenance unit here. At one of the few indoor Air Force firing ranges, the range features a target retrieval system and a hard gel backstop that will soon be replaced by a steel

  • McConnell holds wingwide fitness test

    More than 1,200 Airmen from the 22nd Air Refueling Wing took their physical fitness test here April 22.All 1,200-plus Airmen completed their run and received a series of “wingman” briefings within a four-hour span, but working out the logistics of the wingwide test took months of planning.To

  • Center receives DOD’s most powerful supercomputer

    Aeronautical Systems Center’s major shared resource center officials here announced April 25 the installation of the newest and most powerful supercomputer in the Department of Defense.The 2,048-processor supercomputer will aid weapon systems design of innovative materials, advance design concepts,

  • Military struggling with rising health-care costs

    Rising medical costs and the expansion of health benefits for retirees, guardsmen and reservists, and their families, are putting a strain on the military health-care system, Defense Department health and personnel officials told members of Congress on April 21.“Rising health-care costs are not

  • Quadrennial Defense Review focuses on future

    The four capabilities the Air Force brings to the joint warfighting environment will be the focus of the service's contribution to the 2005 Quadrennial Defense Review.Officials in the office of the secretary of defense produce the Quadrennial Defense Review every four years with input from the

  • Newly designed chamber increases aircraft safety

    Technicians in the Tank and Cooler Unit at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center here push the limits of weapons systems to ensure their safety in the field, sometimes with explosive results.“One of our prime tasks is doing proof pressure testing … before sending them to the field,” said Steven

  • C-130J testers accomplish first five-bundle sequential airdrop

    Developmental test and evaluation on the J-model C-130 Hercules came to a head when testers successfully completed the first five-bundle sequential low velocity airdrop here recently.As part of the test program, 418th Flight Test Squadron Airmen tested software upgrades by rigging five bundles

  • Nothing inside hidden from radiology flight

    A flight of Airmen working in the Air Force Theater Hospital here take up-close and personal pictures all day.The radiology flight Airmen take pictures of people’s insides so doctors can better heal their patients.“In this deployed environment the conditions aren’t as good as what we’re use to, but

  • Officials announce Air Force chaplain service award winners

    Officials recently announced the Air Force chaplain service award winners for 2004.Established last year, the award program recognizes outstanding individual and organizational performance within the chaplain service. The 2004 winners are:-- Outstanding Chaplain Assistant Airman of the Year:

  • Guard, Reserve leaders testify on Capitol Hill

    The directors of the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve testified April 20 on readiness and management support before the Senate Armed Services Committee subcommittee.Lt. Gen. Daniel James III, Air National Guard director, told senators he sees positive benefits to the community basing

  • Reserve, active-duty pilots battle for air superiority

    In the animal world, a 500-pound gorilla would pose relatively no threat to a 1,200-pound Mako shark swimming at 65 mph. However, when these two creatures take on the form of fighter pilots and step into an F-15 Eagle or F-16 Fighting Falcon to face off in the sky, anything is possible. For two

  • Airmen guard diverse flying mission

    With fighter, tanker, cargo, transport, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft at the largest wing in the area, the flightline at a forward-deployed location is nothing short of active.Such diversity of aircraft and missions requires a level of uniformity that keeps maintenance

  • Dad travels world with 'Mini Alyssa'

    Nine-year-old Alyssa DeGreef has seen quite a bit of Central Asia from her cozy seat in her dad’s pocket.Lt. Col. Mike DeGreef, 22nd Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron commander at Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan, has carried a small copy of a picture his daughter, Alyssa, drew of herself since he was

  • Officials announce 2004 organizational excellence award winners

    The Secretary of the Air Force Personnel Council recognized the following units as 2004 Air Force Organizational Excellence Award winners during the specified periods of time:-- Air Education and Training Command headquarters: Oct. 1, 2002, to Sept. 30, 2004.-- Air Force Special Operations Command

  • Air Force Academy selected as ‘Best Value College’

    The U.S. Air Force Academy is one of the nation’s "best value" undergraduate institutions, according to a Princeton Review report.The New York-based education services company announced April 18 that it chose the academy as one of 81 schools it recommends in the new 2006 edition of its book,

  • C-130 maintainers keep mission-capable rates high

    C-130 Hercules maintainers with the 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron here are keeping mission-capable rates for C-130s as high as 15 percent above the Air Mobility Command standard.“Mission-capability rates are a measure of the percentage of time an aircraft is capable of performing its designed

  • Officials announce recipients of 2004 PA achievement awards

    Air Force officials have announced the 2004 Air Force public affairs achievement award recipients.They are:Winners of the Secretary of the Air Force Office of Public Affairs director’s excellence awards are:-- Major command category: The Brig. Gen. Harry J. Dalton Jr. Award goes to U.S. Air Forces

  • Airmen rescue Icelandic fisherman

    Airmen of the 56th Rescue Squadron here completed their second rescue in a month when they evacuated an injured Icelandic fisherman April 10.They flew a fisherman suffering from multiple injuries and having difficulty breathing after receiving a blunt trauma caused by a broken cable about 200 miles

  • Life-support techs keep OEF airlifters rescue ready

    For C-130 Hercules aircrews flying a combat airlift mission, there are various forms of lifesaving equipment on the plane and on the Airmen every time they fly.Whether it is a parachute or a helmet, aircrews here are fitted with the best equipment available from the 774th Expeditionary Airlift